This second illustrated edition of Columbus's letter announcing his voyage to the Caribbean is
the first to contain representations of the New World itself. It was translated from the Spanish into Latin by Leander
de Cosco. Between 1493 and 1500, the letter went through some twenty editions.

Columbus's brief account of his "discovery" of "a new island in the Indian Ocean" reflects the press of business and
belies the complex, learned man this Genoese Admiral really was. The letter's straightforward reportorial style
conceals a host of assumptions that informed Columbus's expedition. He came, he saw, he possessed - in the name
of the Spanish Crown.